A photographic diary of a birdwatcher. Travelling the world so you don't have to.

Monday, 18 June 2012

Bi-Centennial Park, Sydney, June 2012

Sydney was
sporting an autumnal look as the southern winter approaches. It was cool enough
to have the locals reaching for their jackets, but 12C is a perfect temperature
for an overweight sweaty bloke who was planning a bit of a hike.

I started
from Concorde West as usual, but was
planning to cover more ground today and return by ferry from the wharf on the
Parramatta River. As usual, birds were seen before even leaving the station
with Pied Currawong, Noisy Miner, Australian Raven and Rainbow
Lorikeet seen before passing under the road bridge at the end of Victoria
Ave. A flock of 30 Sulphur-crested
Cockatoos flew raucously over and alighted on the large aerial just inside
the park.

Yellow Thornbills, Spotted Pardalotes, Grey
Fantails, and Superb Fairywrens
formed a mixed flock to welcome me into the scrub along the path that passes
the freshwater ponds.

A Purple Gallinule
reflected in the pond that it shared with a few Chestnut Teal and a Pacific Black Duck.

The water
level in the lagoon was as high as I have seen it before. There was not a wide
variety of birds to be seen this morning, though Chestnut Teal, Grey Teal
and Black-winged Stilt were
plentiful. A few Black Swans drifted
carelessly across the surface with one taking time to show off the flight
feathers that so often get missed on the closed wing.

At the far
end of the lagoon, I stopped in at the hide for a while. The high water had
covered the mud which is usually enjoyed by the tiny Red-kneed Dotterels and it had concentrated the Black-winged Stilts around the small
island that they shared this morning with the Australian Pelicans.

On Homebush Bay behind, a few scuttled boats provided roosting spots for the missing Dotterels
as well as Anhinga, Silver Gulls and Pied Cormorants.

Beyond here,
I was venturing into new territory. I had arrived in Sydney early this morning
and the rest of the day was mine, so I had no time restrictions and was able to
continue across the Bennelong Parkway bridge at Google Earth ref; 33 50 05S 151
04 33E. A Rufous Night Heron roosted
in the mangroves overlooking the side channel here and a Striated Heron watched patiently from the barrage.

I took the
path through the Olympic archery ranges before cutting across Hill Road into
the Narawang Wetlands which had been my main purpose for this morning’s visit. The
marshes here are man-made, managed for Bell Frogs with a boardwalk passing through much of the system.
There are shallow and deep pools with lots of reeds, rushes and water
vegetation, but not much by way of birds.

A few Superb Fairywrens were seen
among the rushes and some Australian
Grebes dived and disappeared into the reeds at my approach, but most of the
action came from the higher trees around the edges. Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes were seen perched in the topmost
branches and a Grey Butcherbird sat
out proud on a snag.

My secondary
target for the day was a visit to Birdlife
Australia Discovery Centre. The gates from the wetlands leading into
Newington Armory were closed, so I had to take the long way round via the gaol.
The public displays were closed when I arrived, but the friendly and helpful
staff opened it up for me to have a quick look. After a quick glance at my
waistline, they warned me that the gap in the fence was quite narrow and then
pointed me towards the exit of the armory. Sure enough, for a chap with a pie
dependency, it was a bit of a squeeze to get out. By the river here there is
another wetland with viewing gaps cut into a screen through which good numbers
of Chestnut and Grey Teal could be seen, but more locked gates that looked as
if they did not open very often for casual viewing, blocked further penetration
into the area.

There is a
pair of White-bellied Sea Eagles
that feature as stars of the Discovery Centre’s webcam, building a nest nearby
each year and raising their chicks under thousands of watchful eyes. The bird
perched in the mangroves across the Parramatta River was possibly one of the
pair which should be returning to their duties later this year. It was time to
rest my weary legs and I took the time to try to get a long-distance shot of
the eagle.

A Brown Hawk flew past and flushed a White-faced Heron that had been picking
it way along the shore towards me.

The ferry
timetables did not suit me at this time of day, so I ended up on the bus which
runs between the wharf at Google Earth ref; and Strathfield Railway Station (a
couple of stops closer to the city on the same line as Concorde West).